Tom Cruise is renowned for his unwavering dedication to his craft. From performing high-risk stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise to producing nearly every project he stars in, Cruise has spent over four decades giving his all to cinema.
© Warner Bros. PicturesNow, the 64-year-old actor takes that commitment even further in his new film, Digger. He stars as oil baron Digger Rockwell, who attempts to save the world after causing a catastrophic environmental crisis.
Tom underwent an astonishing physical transformation to play Digger, marking the actor's most visceral appearance shift for a role since Les Grossman in 2008's Tropic Thunder.
Tom Cruise's astonishing transformation for Digger
Tom sports aging prosthetic work, grey hair and a padded bodysuit to portray the character – a role that took him decades to prepare for.
© Warner Bros. Pictures"It took me 40 years to be able to put on the boots of Digger Rockwell and [play] the many layers," Tom told the audience at CinemaCon in April.
He added that Digger was "the kind of movie [which] is why I wanted to make movies," and that it was "wild, it's funny, and I can't wait for you all to see it."
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu shared insight into Tom's transformation for the role and revealed that the actor threw himself into the project like never before.
© Warner Bros. Pictures"Watching Tom Cruise becoming Digger Rockwell, I was not prepared for that," the director said. "We know he's fearless. The stunts, the plane, the jumps. But I have to say, embodying this character is another kind of fearless. I think this role may be his most challenging, hire-wire act."
While Tom originally spent six hours in the hair and makeup chair each day, he was determined to streamline the process. Speaking on the New Heights podcast, he recalled: "I had a guy there with a stopwatch, and I'm like, 'OK, you see that time, six hours? By the time we're done, we’re going to get it under an hour.'"
What is Digger about?
Digger, which has been in the works for almost ten years, follows Texan oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, the most powerful man in the world whose oil drilling triggers an environmental catastrophe.
The official synopsis reads: "The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything."
© Warner Bros. PicturesDescribing the film at Cannes in 2025, Alejandro said, "All I can say is it is a brutal, wild comedy of catastrophic proportions. It's insane. It's scary and funny and beautiful. I know comedy is not what people expect from me, or Tom, and making this film was terrifying for me."
"But I don't like to repeat myself, and every film should scare you a little. I felt Birdman was a comedy, a dark comedy, and this one was challenging like that," he continued, adding, "And Tom makes me laugh every single day. He has this total commitment, this total madness."
© Getty ImagesDigger also stars John Goodman, Sandra Huller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde and Emma D'Arcy.
